The present invention generally relates to general purpose utility lighters, such as those used to ignite candles, barbecue grills, fireplaces, and campfires, and in particular to a lighter having a safety device. Specifically, the present invention related to a child resistant, self-igniting hand held lighter.
The instant invention provides a mechanism to reduce the likelihood of dangerous and oftentimes deadly fires by implementing a child resistant device on hand held lighters, specifically, those used in the lighting of candles, barbecue grills, fireplaces, and campfires. Such hand held lighters are well described in the art, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,738,507 to Mifune et al. Protection against child use is achieved with the present invention by implementing a device that requires dexterity and hand-eye coordination of an advanced age.
Dangers associated with children and fire are well known. Dangerous and oftentimes fatal fires often result when children play with or attempt to use hand held lighters. Deadly fires often result because present hand held lighters of the type identified do not sufficiently guard against use by young children. The present invention addresses these problems and others which may also be associated with the known art.
Furthermore, hand held lighters are typically disposable, meaning that once the fuel runs out of the tank, the lighters are thrown away. This forces a user to continually purchase new lighter each time the old one runs out. Therefore, there exists a need for a reusable lighter which also meets the standards of child safety. Accordingly, the present invention fulfills these needs and provides a more efficient, cost effective, and safer lighter for the consumer.
Heretofore, there does not exist in the art a child resistant device for hand held lighters of the type identified that requires hand-eye coordination and dexterity of an advanced age working in concert to engage the flaming device.
Prior attempts to provide sufficient child safety features for hand held lighters have failed to appreciate the important aspects which the present invention fully encompasses. U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,415 entitled xe2x80x9cChild-Proof Gas Lighters and Pens Therewith,xe2x80x9d issued to Hamel represents such a prior attempt. Hamel teaches a child proof device comprising an interfering piece displaceable to jam a lever for opening a gas valve in a lighter. Hamel does not teach, disclose, suggest, or make obvious a device requiring two hands to operate in conjunction to rotate and hold a firing chamber with one hand while simultaneously pushing a release valve with the second hand.
Other attempts to provide sufficient child safety features for lighting devices have likewise failed to appreciate the important aspects of the present invention, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,775 issued to Saito et al. entitled xe2x80x9cSafety Device in Lighting Rodsxe2x80x9d; U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,663 issued to Fremund entitled xe2x80x9cChild Proof Cigarette Lighterxe2x80x9d; U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,458 issued to Cirami entitled xe2x80x9cChild-Resistant Lighter with Spring-Based, Rotatable Safety Releasexe2x80x9d; U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,521 issued to Tsai entitled xe2x80x9cInjection Igniter Having a Safety Devicexe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,387 issued to Shena entitled xe2x80x9cCigarette Lighter.xe2x80x9d None of the aforementioned references discloses, suggests, motivates, or teaches a device with safety features that require dexterity or skill of an advanced age equaling that of the present invention. The aforementioned references incorporate xe2x80x9csafetyxe2x80x9d features aimed against the inadvertent lighting or release of flammable substances, but do not guard against use by a young, immature child to the extent and in the improved manner that the present invention provides.
It is therefore an object of the instant invention to provide a means to protect against use of a hand held lighter by a child. In other words, the hand held lighter cannot be engaged advertently or inadvertently by a person without the two-handed dexterity and hand-eye coordination typically associated with a person of advanced age. By requiring a de minimus level of hand-eye coordination and two-handed dexterity, the instant invention helps to protect against young children igniting dangerous and oftentimes fatal fires.
It is a further object of the instant invention to have a hand held lighter that requires release of the safety features before each attempted use. This protects against use of the hand held lighter by a child who either disengages one of the safety features through happenstance or by a child who attempts to use a hand held 1t lighter found with the child safety features having at one time been disengaged.
The above and other objects of the instant invention are accomplished by providing a child safety device for a hand held lighter as described herein. The hand held lighter comprises a main body, a trigger mechanism, a base having a fuel tank containing a flammable substance (fuel), and a barrel section. Incorporated therein is a child safety device preferably comprising a rotatable barrel section and a release/lock means associated with the trigger mechanism and the barrel section. Generally, the rotating barrel must be unlock and rotated to an operable position while the trigger is being depressed.
In a first embodiment, a first locking bar, operatively connected to the trigger mechanism, engages the rotatable barrel preventing rotation. When the trigger mechanism is depressed slightly, the first locking bar disengages from the rotatable barrel. At the same time, a second locking bar operatively linked to the trigger mechanism is moved toward engagement of the rotatable barrel. If the rotatable barrel is not rotated, the second locking bar will engage the rotatable barrel when the trigger mechanism is fully depressed, again locking the rotating barrel in its non-operable position. If the barrel is rotated to its operable position while the trigger is slightly depressed, then fully depressing the trigger will temporarily lock the rotating barrel in its operable position.
In a second embodiment, the user depresses a push-button release with one hand, unlocking the trigger mechanism and unlocking a locking means which selectively locks the rotatable section. With a second hand the user rotates the rotatable section to a second position and then releases the push-button release. Rotating the rotatable section, against an urging means, to the second position or operable position aligns a fuel line in the main body with a fuel line section in the rotatable barrel section. Furthermore, releasing the push-button release re-locks the rotatable section, via the locking means, in the second position. The trigger mechanism being unlocked may now be depressed, releasing the fuel through the aligned fuel lines and being ignited at the nozzle. When the trigger mechanism is released, a releasing means unlocks the locking means, whereupon the urging means rotates the rotatable section back to the first position or non-operable position, un-aligning the fuel lines. This process must then be repeated in order to fire the lighter again.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the lighter is provided with a fuel access port to allow the lighter to be refueled. In this embodiment, the lighter incorporates a fuel measuring device for measuring and indicating the amount of fuel left in the lighter. In the case of liquid fuel, a view window in the main body and fuel tank can be provided in order to visually determine the amount of fuel left in the fuel tank. In the case of gaseous fuel, a fuel meter can be incorporated into the fuel tank. The fuel access port allows the user to re-fill the fuel tank when emptied or low.
Numerous other advantages and features of the invention will become readily apparent from the detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, from the claims, and from the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same.